


And There Is Death

by Chrononautical



Series: Endless Apocrypha [7]
Category: Lucifer (TV), The Sandman (Comics)
Genre: America as a metaphor, F/M, Protective Lucifer, Temporary Character Death, but that one isn't my fault, goldfish as a metaphor, life is about choices, tea as a metaphor, the goldfish are canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-09 06:43:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10406241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrononautical/pseuds/Chrononautical
Summary: Chloe Decker dies. This is not an ending.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The title of this story is the only description given for Death of the Endless after her siblings are introduced with long paragraphs in _Seasons of Mists_. What more can be said of Death? She is unbound, unfettered, herself, but never unsympathetic.

As a homicide detective, Chloe had seen her fair share of dead bodies. Looking down at her own was different, though. She didn’t feel the usual surge of adrenaline, the need to seek justice, or the mild disgust that always came from seeing such a messy corpse. All she felt was a gentle sadness. And pity for Dan, who was clutching the shell of her body to his chest, sobbing as though the world had ended. 

“I guess I was a bleeder,” she said aloud, a little surprised to hear her own voice. 

“I’ve seen worse,” said the pale woman next to her. Death wore black, which wasn’t a surprise, even if the tank top sort of was. The kind smile was even more unexpected. “So have you, if you think about it.” 

“Your name wouldn’t happen to be Azrael, would it?” Once, on a bizarre case involving a missing dagger, Lucifer had mentioned that the angel of death was a woman. His sister, he’d said. Upon discovery that life after death was actually real, Chloe found herself reconsidering how many of his stories she was willing to believe. 

Death winked. “I’m no angel.” 

Speaking of angels, Chloe looked to Amenadiel. He was watching her with a sad stoicism. Not her body, but her. 

“Can you see me?”

He nodded, just once, slowly. Then he spoke. “If I had my powers, Detective, I would hold you here as Lucifer once did. I would heal you with the grace of God as even he could not. Perhaps that is why the ability to be of use has been taken from me. I am sorry, Detective. Sorrier still that I could not protect you from this. But you have nothing to fear from that which must come. The beauty of the Silver City is beyond mortal description. You will know peace there.” 

That was something else for Chloe to wrap her head around. Heaven was real. She would see her father again, and her grandparents. While she wasn’t ready to leave Trixie or her life behind, it was good to know that there was something after. She’d see her daughter again in time. 

But not Lucifer. 

If heaven was real, if Amenadiel was truly an angel, then Chloe had to accept the rest. Lucifer was the devil. She wasn’t going to see him in heaven. She was never going to see him again. Dead, Chloe didn’t have a throat, but she felt like she was choking. The tears that stung her eyes might not have been water, but they were real. 

Passing through the hood of Dan’s car as though it didn’t exist, Chloe wrapped her arms around Amenadiel. He felt warm and solid even as the rest of the world fell away. She pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Give that to Lucifer for me, okay?” Taking a moment to swipe at the hot, unwanted droplet that spilled down her cheek, she offered him a shaky smile. “Tell him, tell him—” Her voice broke. 

“I’ll tell him you love him,” Amenadiel said. He always looked sober and serious, but now he seemed absolutely ancient, as though he had seen the whole history of the world written out and it was a tragedy. 

Chloe nodded. Alive, she’d been so afraid of saying those words to Lucifer. Afraid he’d laugh. Afraid he’d leave. It hadn’t been an irrational fear. Once she’d told him that she trusted him and he avoided her for weeks, acting like a freak around her when she finally approached him about a case. Another time he’d stood her up, left her sitting alone at a restaurant, on what she’d thought would be their first date. When she first kissed him, he skipped town for three months. She knew he cared about her, but she also knew he reacted badly to any expression of intimacy. She supposed it didn’t matter now. Technically, she’d be the one not taking his calls. 

“I wish he was here. We wasted so much time, I’d have liked to say goodbye.” 

“He would only have disappointed you,” Amenadiel said.

Chloe laughed through her tears. “Damn right he would have.” She faked an english accent. “Oh, are you dying, darling? What a tiresome mortal activity.” 

“Love? Never had much use for the emotion myself,” Amenadiel agreed, in a much better imitation of his brother’s voice. 

“I’ll call you, detective. Eventually.” Chloe laughed hard at her own joke. It wasn’t that funny. Lucifer would never call her again.

Amenadiel chuckled along with her for a moment. Then he took a deep breath. “It all comes from denial you know,” he said seriously. “He once lost more than you can imagine. Spent eons being rejected by every single person he loved and reached out to. But he does love you, Chloe. I know he does.” 

And then she was crying again, wiping futilely at her face, trying not to embarrass herself in her last moments on earth.

“We should go,” Death said. Her hand on Chloe’s shoulder was gentle and comforting. “Long goodbyes are the worst.” 

Nodding, Chloe turned to go with her. Then she stopped, looking back at Amenadiel and the sobbing ex-husband who couldn’t see her. “It’s—You’re an angel, I know you probably have way more important things to do, but could you look out for Trixie? Please. She—Losing her mom won’t be easy.” 

Amenadiel’s smile was big and broad, despite the sadness in his eyes. “Trixie has Maze in her corner. Anything else would be redundant, but a few redundancies never hurt. I will watch over her. When she joins you in the Silver City it will be after a long, happy life.” 

“Thank you.” 

As Chloe turned back to Death, the rest of the world disappeared into darkness. Her body, her ex, the car, the alley, and the angel all vanished. Straining, she just managed to hear Amenadiel’s last words. “Goodbye Chloe Decker. You were not loved by Lucifer alone, my friend.” 

Time stretched and wrapped around her in the darkness. She was alone with Death in the black void for an eternity. After a fraction of a second, Death turned a knob and opened a door, revealing a blinding white light. As Chloe’s eyes adjusted, she saw that they’d entered a small, well kept apartment. Death casually went over to an oak end table, opening the top drawer and taking out a little plastic jar of goldfish food. 

“Is this heaven?” Chloe hadn’t been expecting pearly gates necessarily, but the way Lucifer and Amenadiel talked about a silver city, she had been expecting something a little more dramatic than an Ikea sofa set. 

“Nah. This is my house,” Death said, touching the silver ankh on her necklace. “Take a load off. I hope you don’t mind, but I thought we could talk a little before you move on.”

“Sure.” Chloe sat gingerly on the edge of the couch. The woman might look normal, excepting the extremely pale skin and the void black hair, but she was Death. Chloe wasn’t going to argue with her. 

Dropping a few pellets into the glass goldfish bowl, Death smiled. “It really is a choice. If you want to go now, we can.” 

Chloe relaxed a little. “I’ve got nothing but time, apparently.”

“Tea?” she asked, stepping out of the room for a moment. Although Chloe couldn’t see her, she heard running water and the sound of a kettle being set down gently on metal. The soft click of a gas burner being lit. 

“Please.” 

“You’re American,” the embodiment of entropy said in a friendly way, “so I won’t presume about milk or sugar. I’ll just bring the lot out and let you decide.” 

“Thanks. Do you need any help with anything?” 

“No worries! I won’t be a minute. My brother gave me a beautiful tea service a few years ago. It’s nice to have a chance to use it.” 

The tea service was unbelievable. Set atop a mirrored tray was a teapot with a spout so thin that Chloe could hardly believe liquid flowed through it. Matching the sugar bowl and little milk pitcher, it was made of some dark metal—black in a way that absorbed light. They did not reflect in the mirror, apparently invisible from below, but the cups did. Somehow the cups were even more impossible than the service. They were made of a delicate porcelain featuring small painted flowers, but the paints were colors Chloe had never seen before. Colors that were impossible to describe because they were so wholly new to her. 

“That is beautiful,” she murmured as Death set the tray down on the coffee table and took a seat opposite Chloe. 

“Thanks. I like it. Usually Morpheus’s taste runs a little pretentious for me, but the pot keeps the tea perfectly hot and the pitcher keeps the milk perfectly cold. Practical, not just pretty, which means he really was thinking of me when he made it. Please, help yourself.” 

Chloe poured herself a cup and added a little milk, just to see if the pitcher felt the same as the pot, completely weightless and frictionless, like she was holding nothing at all. “That’s amazing.” The tea was pretty good, too. Chloe liked Earl Grey. 

“Sorry it’s just Tesco brand,” Death said. “I always feel like I should serve the steeped leaves of the peach trees of immortality or something when I use this pot, but all I ever have on hand is Tesco.” 

“It’s good. It’s perfect, really. I think if it was apple blossoms from the Garden of Eden or whatever my mind would break. A little normalcy is exactly what I need. Though I’m not familiar with Tesco. Is that some sort of supermarket from the future?”

Death laughed. “Nope, just London. No different from the Ralph’s or wherever you usually go, but they know their tea.” 

Taking another sip, Chloe tried to wrap her mind around the tea set, Death shopping in a British grocery store, and the two bright orange goldfish swimming contentedly in their little bowl. “You’re letting me choose, aren’t you? I’m supposed to go to heaven, but you’ll take me to hell if I ask.” 

“It’s an awful place.” Death looked down at her own teacup. “It’s not just torture and demons and special doors behind which you suffer again through everything you feel guilty about. The Lake of Fire isn’t a metaphor. It’s real and it burned your boyfriend, the Lightbringer, the most powerful of Yahweh’s angels, to a cinder. Hell is always too hot except in the places where it’s too cold and all the volcanic ash is impossible to wash out of your hair without really awesome shampoo.” 

“Of course,” Chloe said. “It’s hell.” She tried to control the smile that was stretching her cheeks, tried to reason with the flutter of hope swelling in her chest. “Anyway Lucifer isn’t even there. He’s on earth. He retired.”

“Exactly.” Death met Chloe’s eyes. “Heaven is the right place for you.” 

Chloe nodded. “Take me to hell, please. I won’t abandon him. Not if I have a choice.” 

Death smiled, but she didn’t look happy. “You understand that there’s no way to change your mind later, right? Not without an extraordinary angelic rescue or divine intervention, which doesn’t tend to happen for people who choose Lucifer’s side.” 

“I understand.” Before Chloe could reaffirm her decision, a loud boom sounded throughout the little apartment. There was another, like the sound of a police battering ram against a heavy, deadbolted door. A third, and it reminded her again of the LAPD forcing their way into a suspect’s apartment. Alarmed, she looked at Death, wondering how many rules the friendly woman was breaking by giving Chloe a choice of afterlifes. 

Death rolled her eyes. “Sorry for the interruption. You’d think a visitor would knock more politely.” 

Curious, Chloe got up and followed Death to the door. Looking out the window next to the apartment door, she saw the monster that was knocking. It was far below them, as though the exterior door was to a tall tower instead of an efficient little apartment. The man-shaped monster had angry red scars crisscrossing his skin and enormous, flaming wings that seemed to be made of white bone and sparking orange fire. Chloe realized what the sound was when the creature swung a sword made of the same bright fire against the door, shaking the apartment with noise, though apparently not even scratching the exterior of Death’s home. 

“I WILL NOT BE IGNORED!” the twisted thing howled. 

“Put some pants on,” Death said calmly, leaning against the closed door. 

Chloe couldn’t help snickering a little at the unimpressed look on the woman’s face, and the abrupt way the monster stopped swinging his sword. She’d been so distracted by the fiery wings and flaming sword that she hadn’t noticed he was naked. Even if she had noticed, she might not have realized that a creature with skin like a boiled lobster would ordinarily wear clothing.

The monster straightened his back and made a gesture Chloe knew as well as her own daughter’s smile. Lucifer tugged at the invisible lapel of a suit and straightened his cufflinks. Suddenly, he was looking as human as ever in freshly pressed Prada. The flames along his sword blade flickered out, and it shrank, becoming a familiar looking knife. Lucifer tucked it inside of his jacket carefully. 

“My apologies, Lady Death,” he said with a smooth, insincere smile. “I wonder if I might have a moment of your time. I wish to discuss a personal matter of some urgency.” 

Death winked at Chloe. “Sure. Come on in.” 

As she opened the door, Chloe experienced a strange disorientation. Through the window, she could still see Lucifer far below at the base of a black tower. Through the door, she watched him step directly onto the simple hardwood floor of the apartment. He looked good. Only a few hours had passed since they split up to track down different leads, but only minutes ago she’d been sure she would never see him again. When he turned slightly to glance at her disinterestedly, she saw her own joy mirrored and multiplied in his face. 

“Chloe,” he breathed, eyes wide and jaw slack. Instantly his hand was on her cheek, guiding her lips to his. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close. They had kissed before, but it was different now. Chloe couldn’t smell his usual expensive cologne, nor did she feel the hormonal electric buzz that she’d always felt in his embrace. Of course she didn’t. She was dead; she didn’t have a body to feel those things. Somehow, what she could feel was better. Pure. The heat of his body enveloped her like a protective shield as she wound her arms around him in turn. His tongue tasted like whiskey and campfires and coming home. 

She was dead. If she didn’t have lungs, then she didn’t need to breathe. So she kissed him and she went on kissing him. Lucifer didn’t seem to mind. His hands stroked her cheek, the column of her throat, the back of her neck, the curve of her right shoulder blade, the ridge of her spine, the small of her back, and the hourglass bend of her waist before inevitably grabbing her ass. Remembering that they were guests in Death’s home, Chloe broke the kiss and moved his hand. 

While Lucifer obligingly returned the offending appendage to her waist, he didn’t release Chloe from his embrace. Opening her eyes she saw that his broad, flaming wings were folded around her, like an enormous brooding eagle. 

“I thought you had Maze cut these off,” she said, stroking one finger along a fiery feather. It burned, reminding her of the sensation of passing her hand through a candle flame, but it didn’t hurt. 

“I did,” he said, catching her hand and bringing it to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. “You saw that counterfeit version, so you know what they looked like. Unfortunately, I burned my wings to a crisp when I finally recovered them. Believe it or not, it seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“So these are your burning wings?” It seemed bizarre, but no more bizarre than being dead. No stranger really than kissing the devil. At some point she should probably think about that scarred, monstrous visage, but it didn’t seem to matter when his arms were around her. Not now that they had a second chance. 

“Well, not exactly. The bones are mine. Fortunately Maze buried them, so they were easy enough to recover. Grafted them back to my body and the rest is just willpower. I needed wings to traverse the planes looking for you, so I made myself some new ones. Nothing to it, really.” 

“Oh yeah, that sounds easy.” Chloe laughed and giddily pressed a quick kiss to the gleeful grin she’d thought she’d never see again. 

Once again, Lucifer didn’t release her when she pulled back. His smile fell away and he touched her cheek fondly. “Just one more minute,” he said. Alarmed, Chloe thought she saw tears in the corners of his eyes. “Please. Just one more.” Bending forward, he brushed his mouth against hers, but again the kiss changed to something new. Slower. Sadder. A kiss goodbye. 

“Lucifer.” It was Chloe’s turn to put a gentle hand on his cheek. “It’s okay.” 

“I only came here to ask for directions,” he admitted. “I never thought I’d find you anywhere but the Silver City. It was Amenadiel’s idea. Coming here. Making sure. I think he wanted me to take a moment and calm down, since my only other option was turning up at the pearly gates with an army to smash my way in. He said you probably wouldn’t forgive me for that. Especially not if you’d been reincarnated or decided to haunt the earth until your killer was apprehended or something.”

“What?” This time when Chloe pulled away, Lucifer let her.

Shrugging, Lucifer tucked his wings away into invisibility. “You have options.” He studied her face closely. “If you didn’t go straight to heaven, you have options. Did your mother ever have a Buddhist phase? Maybe one long enough to have influenced your subconscious beliefs as much as the pervasive Judeo-Christian culture? It’s definitely the best option. Earth is always the best option. It would probably only take me ten, fifteen years to find you. Though I’d wait until you were eighteen to approach you.” He gauged her expression. “Twenty? I’d wait until you turn twenty-one to approach you?” 

“Not. That.” Chloe wasn’t sure if she was furious or just terrified. “What do you mean about an army?” 

For the first time since he entered Death’s apartment, Lucifer looked away from her face. “Nice goldfish,” he said to Death. 

“Thanks.” 

“Lucifer!” 

“Some women would be flattered by that sort of thing,” he said defensively. 

Chloe took a deep breath. The relative existence of her lungs no longer mattered. She needed a deep, calming breath, so she took one. “For the record, I am strongly opposed to armies and battles of any kind. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I especially do not want you fighting God over me, okay?” 

Lucifer’s cool expression broke as he looked back at her with wide, sad eyes. “It isn’t fair. He made you. He put you in my path! He can’t just take you back. Not like this. We should have had decades left. At least five more. At least! I can’t. I’m not ready to lose you. Not yet. Not now. Please Chloe, just one more minute. Just one more kiss.” 

Catching her face in both hands, he kissed her again desperately. Never one to face things head on, Lucifer seemed to think that as long as he was kissing her nothing else could happen. As long as he was holding on to her, he couldn’t lose her again. Chloe had to pull back to put him out of his misery. 

“It’s okay.” Chloe smiled at Death and squeezed Lucifer’s arm. “I know that I have a choice. I made it before you even arrived.” 

He searched her face hopefully. “Do you believe in reincarnation? I wouldn’t have thought—”

“No,” she said, “But I believe in hell, now. I’m going to go there, so we can be together. If you want.” 

Sucking in a sharp breath, Lucifer stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes. “You would never know a moment of privation,” he said slowly. “Nor the touch of a torturer’s hand. Any desire, every desire of yours would be my very command. Should you care to grace my bed, I would spend centuries seeing to your pleasure, and when you did not you would be a Queen. Together, we could make a heaven of hell. I vow. I swear to you, Chloe, I will spend the rest of eternity ensuring that you never regret the choice for a moment. And I can’t.” His voice broke. “I can’t let you.” 

“Lucifer?” 

Spinning away, he braced himself against the back of the couch, head bowed, eyes closed. “It’s not awful,” he said finally. “Heaven, I mean.”

“I know.”

“No.” He looked exhausted, too tired to hold his head up. Too tired to see her. “You don’t. It’s certainty and joy and peace every moment, surrounded by love and trust. There’s a reason my brother, the single most anal retentive angel ever to exist, was willing to break rules, take risks, and commit sins to get back there. In the whole history of existence, there’s only been one being that wasn’t happy there, and I am admittedly exceptional in any number of ways.”

Leaning against the couch, Chloe put a hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her. “Doesn’t sound like my kind of place. Who wants to be happy all the time when I can experience the endless frustration of hanging out with you?” 

Closing his eyes again, he leaned into her hand. “I’ve never barred anyone from hell before,” he said softly. “I guess this was the plan all along. Suppose it’s as good a way as any for my asshole father to force me to resume my throne.” 

When he opened his eyes they were glowing red. The red spread across his face until she was looking up at the devil himself, scarred and inhuman. It might have been terrifying if Chloe didn’t know exactly what he was doing. “You will not be welcome, in the Pit of Torment, Chloe Decker, not while it is my domain. Whatever choices you have, hell is not among them. Go to heaven. You’ll like it more than wandering the earth as a disembodied spirit.” 

Spinning away from her, the bastard actually stomped over to the door and opened it. 

“Or you could ask me about door number three,” Death said casually. She was leaning against the wall with her arms folded over her chest. Apparently, she’d been giving them space to talk. 

Lucifer froze. Chloe was sure he wasn’t breathing. Without lifting his neck, he turned his face slowly to Death, human-seeming once more. “You don’t make deals,” he whispered. 

“No, I don’t, but that’s not a rule. I’m not bound by any rules.” 

The door drifted shut. 

“What’s behind door number three?” Chloe asked, since Lucifer didn’t seem able to. 

Death smiled. “A better body. Or, well, your old body, but I’ll teach you the trick of not dying and show you how to walk between planes. You get the best of all worlds, and I’ll make sure you have a body until you ask me to take it. That makes your final end a true ending, but in the intervening eons, you can go wherever you please. No choice necessary. Heaven and hell can still shut their gates, but I don’t think they will.” As she turned to Lucifer, her smile turned into a challenge. 

He nodded, just once, warily. 

“What do I have to do?” Chloe asked.

“Not much.” Death shrugged. “It’s as easy as opening a door, once you know the trick.” 

“Thank you,” Chloe said slowly, “but I was asking about the deal.” 

“It really isn’t a deal,” Death said kindly. “Lucifer is right, that’s not my style. Though if you wanted to get together for tea every few decades or so, I wouldn’t say no. My brother has a friend Hob that he meets up with once a century. It’s good for the Endless to have mortal friends on occasion. Helps us keep perspective.” 

“You want something,” Lucifer said with brutal insistence. Hearing the certainty in his voice put Chloe on her guard. He was emotionally volatile, but this was Lucifer’s arena and she trusted his intuition. 

Death threw up her hands in exasperation. “Do I want you to do your fucking job? Yes. Yes, I do. Your horror show of a mom might have been the first to figure out that the gates weren’t being guarded anymore, but she won’t be the last by a long shot. When the damned start showing up back on earth, my life isn’t going to get any easier. But that’s on you, asshole, not Chloe, and I don’t make deals. She gets an offer, freely given in good faith. She deserves that much.” 

“Thank you,” Chloe said absently. Barely two hours had passed since she started believing what Lucifer had been saying since the day they met, but it still felt like she was coming to a long belated realization. Lucifer was the devil. Since the dawn of time, his job had been jailing the worst of the worst. Evildoers that made the worst dealers and hitmen Chloe dealt with as a cop look innocent by comparison. If he was retired or vacationing or whatever on earth, then he wasn’t doing that job anymore. 

“Did you leave someone in charge?” she asked. “When you came to earth?” 

Lucifer blinked at her. Then he laughed, loud and full. He also tried to gather her in his arms again, but she pushed him away. It was a serious concern, and she wasn’t going to spend the rest of eternity being laughed off like a naive human. 

“Well played!” Bowing to Death, he sighed out one last huffing laugh. “Oh, if this was the plan, maybe I was wrong to judge it.”

“Lucifer! I’m serious.”

“Oh, I know you are love.” He met her eyes. “And I know you’ll be just as serious ten thousand years from now. Just as I know in my bones that I’ll still be willing to do anything for you a hundred thousand years from now.” That was sweet enough that she let him take her hands and kiss her. On the cheek. 

“So I’ll be a good boy,” he said. “For you. For variable definitions of good. It should only take a few months to beat things down there back into shape, after that a day or two a week will keep things ticking along. You can spend most of your time on earth, once you’ve satisfied your curiosity and made sure I really am working down at the office, not just napping.” 

Rolling her eyes, Chloe took her hand back so that she could shove his shoulder roughly. 

He was taking her seriously, despite the jokes. “I think,” he said hesitantly, “I really think we could be happy. I realized it on earth. With you. That I enjoy punishing the guilty, I mean. I’m good at it, and I recognize the need. With you at my side, as my partner, the job doesn’t feel like a job. It’s something I want to do. If I can be with you, if you can choose to be with me, if that’s the plan, then. Well, then maybe my father doesn’t hate me as much as I thought.” 

Chloe gave him a slow smile. “Family drama? I wouldn’t know what’s part of your father’s plan and what isn’t. But partners? That I know. That’s my plan. I’m here for you, Lucifer. Always.” 

“Partners, eh?” Lucifer returned her smile with a leer. “Not everything I want darling, but I’ll take it. After all, apparently I’ll have eternity to talk you into bed.” 

Looking to Death for salvation was no help. She seemed far too pleased by this turn of events. Eventually Chloe had to admit, if only to herself, that she was pretty happy with the plan as well. Relenting, she let Lucifer kiss her again. Not on the cheek. Apparently she was going to be the metaphorical carrot to get him back to work, but she would have a little compensation for that. It wasn’t the afterlife most people had. It wasn’t even an afterlife, really. Not if she’d be going back to work on earth as soon as possible. Still, it would be worth it, to be with him. The lake of fire would have been worth it, too. Lucifer was one hell of a prize.


End file.
